Anger at Hester's £1m RBS bonus

Taxpayer-owned bank RBS is paying its chief executive Stephen Hester a bonus worth nearly £1 million for his work in 2011.

The share price of RBS fell by 48% last year, but Mr Hester is to receive the payout at the expense of the taxpayer in addition to his salary of £1.2 million.

News of the bonus, based on Mr Hester receiving 3.6 million shares in the high street bank, has sparked anger in Westminster.

Last night a Lib Dem minister called on the banker to waive the payout. Labour put pressure on the prime minister to intervene.

Last year Mr Hester received a bonus of £2million but this was paid in shares, the value of which has halved since the bonus issue, which in effect means his bonus was around £1 million last year if cashed in now.

However, both years bonuses could in theory be worth much more than they are now if the banks share price increases in the future.